Did you have a student loan for college.

T

TennVet

Member
I didn't have student loan for college. I went to the University of Missouri before I was drafted, and all tuition came out of my pocket. After getting out of the Army and returning from VN I went back to school to get a degree in Accounting that promised to a better career choice (and it worked out that way). On my return to college I received GI education benefits, and worked as well. In my case going back to school we had two little boys and we had to live very conservatively through those years.

I went to year round including summer school to finish as quick as possible. Right out school I went to work for Union Carbide as a cost accountant. I didn't even go to graduation, I was taking the CPA exam. Took the weekend off and went to work on Monday. We felt like we were rich, but truly far from it.
 

Yes, and I was pissed about it. My roommate at the time received funding without a loan for his college tuition and his parents were better off than mine. I worked part-time while and went to college so I was paying off my loan before I even finished.
 

I had only a very small loan of about $2000, and that was only after I returned to college in the late 80’s. For my bachelor degree I received in 85, no loans, and I even lived on my own, with roommates. Now you are hard pressed to even get a 2 yr vocational technical degree without a large loan.

For my Master’s Degree I obtained an assistantship (grad TA) that paid for tuition and even paid a stipend - that was quite a gift!
 
I had two $10K loans for college. We paid the rest as needed. Paid off these two loans after I was done going to college. Later in life I went back to school while working and got an MBA. I paid for that as I went...

I considered continuing for a PhD, but after taking with an advisor that I respected I decided not to go further.
 
I started out at community college when I was 37 and working full time. I may not have had to pay for classes there. I know I didn't take out student loans but can't for the life of me remember how I paid for classes when I transferred to another college. Since I only took two classes a semester, I must've paid out of pocket, which would have been manageable. :unsure:
 
Manatee said:
GI benefits are subject to tinkering by Washington. When we bought our first house I did not qualify for a loan. Two houses later I did qualify.
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You are correct, congress seems to think they need to provide a solution whether a problem has been identified or not. I felt it was my responsibility as a parent to do all I could for my children which includes an education in the area of their choice.

I recall a discussion with a young woman who had some legal issues brought on by some bad choices with drugs and the overall system. She boasted that she had been in nurses training for four years with a significant amount of money borrowed. Because of some of those bad choices she was no longer in school and was very hostile about the government confiscating her tax return. When asked what she should do, I simply said quit being a deadbeat and pay the loan. You asked for it, you owe it, end discussion.
 
In 1985 I started my BA when my youngest son started kindergarten. We paid cash and I got it in 3 years by going full time in the summer. We also paid cash for 2 of my graduate degrees.

My last master’s the federal government paid my tuition and books and gave me a 300/month stipend in 1992 because there were a lack of professionals in my field. I had to work for either a public agency or a nonprofit in my field for 3 years or pay back the money. Working for the state satisfied the requirement. I got that 2 year degree in 1 year. College is much more expensive now.
 
I waitressed the summer before my first year and made enough to pay for room, board and tuition for one semester at a West Virginia state college. The second semester my father paid for tuition and room, but somehow missed the "board" part so I had no meal ticket and almost starved to death going down below 100 pounds before mercifully flunking out.

After that I never went back to college, because I never could afford it.

When my son got to college age I was working, making $10,000 a year and his college cost $8000 a year so that left me $2000 for bus fare and work clothes. Fortunately my husband was a Tech Sergeant and making enough to pay for our rent and food during that time.

Isn't it funny how some states can make their colleges free while in other states it's such a struggle to afford?
 
I had no loans for my undergraduate degree and a fairly small amount due for my professional degree. That was paid off very quickly. Kids got total tuition paid for and I hope they realize how lucky they were to graduate debt free.
 
I'm one of those LUCKY Seniors who still does! This is why I don't tell all young people to go to college anymore. I used to say that to them maybe 15, 20 years ago. No more. For some careers, college is needed. For others, it depends on what you want to do. Many can just go to trade school.

It also VERY much depends on what college a student can get into. Many of the coleges should shut down, IMO. They are not adding value to a student's life.

I'm not alone! https://www.aarp.org/money/credit-loans-debt/info-2021/student-debt-crisis-for-older-americans.html

"By 2016, 9.6 percent of families headed by someone age 50-plus carried student loan debt, with the average amount owed more than tripling to $33,053."
 
We have a grandson who applied to a number of top universities, and was accepted at some big names: Tulane, UCLA, Michigan Ross School o Business, Emory, Vanderbilt, and 6 of the Ivy League schools. He has chosen to go to Duke, and obviously we are very happy for him. From everything I can see he has made a very wise choice. Honestly, I'm glad he didn't chose Yale, Harvard, Princeton and others of that supposed level.
 
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